By-pass sheet folder



June 24' 1930. w. F. MAYER BY-PASS SHEET FOLDER Filed Nov. 22, 1928 2 Sheets-Sheet 1' June 24, 1930. w. F. MAYER BY-PASS SHEET FOLDER Filed Nov; 22, 1928 2 Sheets-11051; 2'

a'rFMayen Midem manual Patented June 24, 193% marsh ra'rss PATENT OFFICE WALDEMAR F. MAYER, OF RUTEERFGRD, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOR TO THE ALBA CORPORATION, F ST. ALBANS, VERMQNT, A' CORPORATIQN OF VEBMDNT morass SHEET FOLDER Application med November 22, 1928. Serial No. 321,135.

This invention relates to certain improvements in sheet folding machines, and more particularly concerns a device for employment upon such machines whereby to control the operation ofthe folding mechanism.

According to the present invention a sheet folding machine is provided with a feeding system and a discharge. system, with the folding device properly located relative between these systems and with a by-pass or switch device which removes the article or sheet from the feeding system and delivers it directly to the discharge system without being passed through the folding devices.

Another feature of the present invention is the provision of a plurality of elements which may be individually adjusted to remove one or more sheets of a plurality which are simultaneously passing along on the feeding system, whereby such selected sheets are 1 ed directly to the delivery system: withoutinfluence upon other sheets which maybe passing simultaneously from the feeding system and through the folding devices.

lVith these and'other features in view as will appear in the course of the following specification and claims, an illustrative form of the invention has been shown on the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 shows a top view of an ironing and folding machine, with a plurality of sheets passing simultaneously therethrough.

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view, on an enlarged scale, substantially on the line 22 of Fig. 1, with a pair of fingers raised for folding.

Fig. 3 is a corresponding longitudinal section substantially on line 33 of Fig. 1, with a pair of fingers lowered for lay-passing.

Fig. 4 is a corresponding longitudinal section, showing the bypass or switch fingers in both raised and lowered positions.

Fig. 5 is an end elevation of a portion of the structure, showing the arrangement of .45 the by-passing fingers.

Fig. 6 is a detail perspective view of a securing clamp for a pair of fingers.

In these drawings, the ironing machine 1s provided with a plurality of conveying devices which feed the ironed sheets to folding devices which, in any desired manner, may produce folds in these sheets and pass them to a discharge conveyor by which they are delivered from the folding machine. A bypass or switch is provided for diverting a sheet from the feeding conveyor to the discharge, so that sheets may be ironed without necessarily being folded.

The ironing machine 10 is of any conventional type havingironing devices and employing a plurality of conveyor tapes 11 which deliver the sheets S, S from the outlet end of the ironing machine. These tapes pass over the guide roller 12 and return in a lower flight back to the ironing machine. A folding conveyor likewise comprises a plurality of tapes 13 passing over the guide rollers 14 and 15 the upper flight of this tape acting inconjunction with the lower flight of tapes 11 to pass and control the sheet in its movement to a folding device which is here represented by a folding blade 16 to form a fourfold or re douhle fold of the sheet, in the manner set .forth in my Patent 1,607,407, granted November 16, 1926, to which patent reference is made as to the operation of the folding devices.

A discharge conveyor comprises a plurality of tapes 17 which pass over the guide rollers 18 and 19, receive the sheet from the folding device 16 and deliver it in its folded condition S over a guide apron 20 to a collecting table 21. It will be noted that the apron 20 comprises a plurality of guide fingers carried by a transverse bar 22 located between the upper and lower flights of tapes 17, with the individual fin gers of the apron extending upward between the tapes 17, over the guide roller 19, and down toward the receiving table 21.

As shown in Fig. 1, the large sheets S are l to pass these articles through the particular folding machine represented by the folder bar 16.

As shown in Fig. 3, a plurality of by-pass or switch fingers 23 of substantially V-shape with the lower'return portions or tape guides 24 pass over the bypass transverse bar 25, and are each provided with a clamp 26 which permits the frictional supporting of these respective lay-pass or switch fingers 23, 24 upon the bar 25. The bar 25 is rotatably mounted in the side standards F of the folding machine, above the discharge conveyor 17, and has a handle 27 with an adjusting screw 28 which cooperates with a stop block 29 on one of the side standards F. The upper portions 23 of the by-pass or switch fingers are alternately formed with rebent ends 30 opposite the tapes 11, and with extended portions 31 opposite the gaps between the tapes 11; so that the upper portion 23 of the various by-pass fingers may form a substantially complete surface extending over the transverse bar 25. The lower arms 24 of the by-pass fingers are so formed as to be free of the tapes 17 when the upper parts 23 of these fingers are in the raised position (Fig. 2).

In operation, when a sheet to be folded is passing through the entire width of the ironing machine or a portion thereof, it comes as shown in Fig. 2 by the upper flight of tapes 11 and passes over the guide roller 12 and is brought back by the upper flight of tapes 13 and lower flight of tapes 11 to a position above the folder bar 16. This folder bar is actuated and operates upon the sheets in a manner such as set forth in my Patent 1,607,407, granted November 16, 1926, above referred to, to produce a fold in the sheet and to deliver the folded sheet between the lower flight of tapes 13 and the upper flight of conveyor tapes 17 to the discharge apron 2O and thence to the collecting table 21. i

If, l10\ ever, it is desired to pass a number of small articles which are not to be folded, through the machine, then as shown in Fig. 3, the by-pass or switch fingers 2.3 are lowered and the sheet S in its movement along the upper flight of conveyin tapes 11 from the ironing machine will encounter the fingers 23 and be moved thereover to the position shown by way of example in Fig. 3; i. e. the sheet will not pass downward and between the tapes 11, 13, and hence Will be bypassed around the folding devices. An operator standing in front of the collecting table 21 may pick up and bind the sheets thus delivered.

Under the conditions shown in Fig. 1, where sheet S is to be folded, but is not of sufficient extent to occupy the full width of the ironing machine, the space thus left vacant may be employed uniformly to iron a number of smaller sheets S. The fingers 23 opposite the lar e sheet S are held in the raised position of Fig. 2, while the corresponding fingers 23 opposite the smaller sheets S are lowered into the position of Fi 3. This position of the respective devices is indicated conventionally in Fig. 4.

It is obvious that the invention isnotlimited solely to the form of execution shown in the illustrative example, but that it may he modified in many ways for employment within the scope of the appended claims.

hat I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a folding mechanism, a feeding conveyor, a discharge element, a folding device adapted to receive sheets from said conveyor and simultaneously fold and deliver them to said discharge element in folded condition, and a bypass means to shunt a selected sheet from said conveyor to said element directly without passing to said folding device.

2. In a folding mechanism, a folding conveyor, a discharge element, a folding device adapted to receive a sheet from said conveyor and deliver it to said discharge element in folded condition, a plurality of by-pass means each adaptable to shunt a sheet portion encounter it from said conveyor directly to said element without passing to said folding device, and means to selectively hold said means in operative and inoperative positions so that a plurality of sheets may be simultaneously passed along said conveyor and one of said sheets passed to said folding device and another of saie sheets shunted directly to the discharge element.

3 In a folding mechanism, a plurality of feeding conveyor tapes held in spaced relationship,a discharge element, a folding device adapted to receive sheets from said conveyor tapes and deliver them to said discharge element, and a by-pass means comprising a plurality of fingers opposite the spaces between said tapes and adapted to be passed between said tapes and beneath the sheets traveling thereon, and means to hold said fingers selectively in an inoperative position out of contact with such sheets and in an op erative position to divert said sheets from said. conveyor tapes and deliver them directly to said element without passing to said fold-- ing device.

4. In a folding mechanism, a plurality of feeding conveyor tapes held in spaced relationship, a discharge element, a folding device adapted to receive sheets from said conveyor tapes and deliver them to said discharge element in folded condition, and a bypass means comprising a plurality of long fingers located opposite the gaps between said tapes and a. plurality of short fingers .lo cdted between said long fingers, said long fingers being adapted to extend in operative position between said tapes, and means to hold said fingers selectively in an inoperative position in which all of them are out of contaet with the sheets, and in an Operative po- :sition in which the long fingers divert the sheets opposite thereto from said conveyor mid deliver them to said element directly without passing to said folding device.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature.

"WALDEMAR F. MAYER. 

